The Million-Dollar Heart by Rebecca Ryan

Vivienne slid the bamboo slats back into the manila envelope and pulled out the documents within.

"Kaitlyn," she began, her voice suddenly slicing through the silence, "you mentioned before that it was Harrison who brought ruin upon your family, was it because he tampered with your family's product?" Kaitlyn blinked, a shadow of pain darkening her gaze as she recalled the past. "That's correct. The Littletons, though rooted in an ancient line of warriors, were always more inclined towards herbal remedies. After the establishment of New Veridia, we branched into modern medicine as well. Our pharmaceuticals were once the toast of the market, all originating from the Littleton labs."

Back in the day, referring to the Littleton enterprise as a state-owned giant wouldn't have been an overstatement.

As the sole heir to the Littleton legacy, Kaitlyn may not have had a knack for medicine, but she excelled in business management.

Upon reaching adulthood, her father entrusted her with a portion of the Littleton empire.

And she did not disappoint. During that period, the Littleton name was synonymous with success in the domestic business circles.

But there was one thing that gnawed at Kaitlyn - her lack of medical talent. She had overheard her parents lamenting the potential end of their family's medical legacy, and the guilt weighed heavily on her. She was determined to right this perceived wrong. Hence, she scoured the world for a medical prodigy until she crossed paths with Harrison.

"I was out closing deals when I saw Harrison, surrounded by a bunch of thugs accusing him of stealing their thunder in front of a mentor, claiming someone from the sticks had no business in the medical field."

The memory brought a sarcastic smile to her lips. "Back then, I was young and couldn't stand to see someone bullied, so I stepped in to help Harrison. Little did I know, it was all a trap set by him and his cronies from those ancient warrior lineages!"

At first, Kaitlyn didn't take Harrison, a seemingly insignificant figure, seriously.

Yet, as time passed, Harrison's shadow began to loom over every aspect of her life. He seduced her with his apparent medical genius and made her fall in love with him.

he wormed his way into the Littletons' top-secret pharmaceutical

first. The drugs Harrison developed

on the cusp of marriage, everything

parents never trusted Harrison." Kaitlyn's voice broke as she covered her face with her hands, weeping, "It was my stubbornness. I was so blinded by love that I believed Harrison was my soulmate. That's why I placed him in such a critical position, and

image of her parents' suicide still haunted her nightmares. Consumed by guilt and regret, she spent

met Tyler that the fog of despondency

women blinded

shoulder. "You shouldn't blame yourself. Even without Harrison, those greedy ancient warrior lineages would've found another way

apart by the insatiable greed and reckless actions of the ancient warrior lineages that had caused tragedies

by baseless accusations because they refused

"Leopold, send a message to

Vivienne," Leopold said as he reached for his phone. It wasn't until he dialed the number that he paused to ask,

certain

blurted out, his disbelief evident. Had he misheard? Was she really going after

perplexed, chimed in, "Madam, who did you say

suddenly found her sorrow stifled by Vivienne's audacious declaration. She hesitated, wanting to check

the problem was the Abernathy family's machinations. What good would suing the

the room aside from Kaitlyn's unconscious parents. He listened with a faint, indulgent smile, as if

to make a